Bench dogs are accessories used to secure your work down on the bench, making them easier to work on. They can be square or round and they can be made of either metal, plastic, or wood. You can get bench dogs online and in woodworking supplies stores, but if you want to be able to adjust the dog’s height, you can make them yourself. Here’s how:
A. What you’ll need
* Round or Square dowels – size depends on the hole you’ve drilled
* Steel fish tape – 1/8-inch wide
* Saw
* Course grit and fine grit sanding paper
* Vice
* Drill bit (same diameter as the width of fish tape)
* Rotary tool with cutting wheel
* Pliers
* Hammer
B. How to do it
Step 1:
You need to cut the dowels down to size. Bench dogs need to be at least half an inch taller than the surface of your workbench, but it could be a little longer. Measure and mark the dowels exactly where you want to cut. Place the dowel in the hole until it’s completely inserted and mark it. Remove the dowel and add the ½ inch (or more) to it and mark it again.
Step 2:
Saw the dowel off at the mark. Create more dogs using the first dowel as a guide. After cutting the dowels, make sure to smoothen them out. Start with a course grit sanding paper and then finish it off with a fine grit one.
Step 3:
Clamp the dowels down using a vice and mark a dots around ½ inch from each end. To make sure the dots line up, use a ruler. Drill on the dot perpendicularly, and when you’ve made an opening, rotate the drill slowly so there will be a sharp angle going towards the ends. After creating the openings on both ends of the dowel, drill a tough from one opening to the other. Afterwards, clean with a knife and then sand until smooth.
Step 4:
The steel fish tape will act as a spring, making it easier to remove the dogs when you don’t need them. Insert it in one of the openings. Bend it slightly until it covers the trough and reaches the opening on the other side and make sure you give a little allowance since the other end is supposed to go in the other opening. Mark it off and cut using a cutting wheel attached to a rotary tool. Repeat for each dowel.
Step 5:
Bend the strip of steel just a little bit to make it easier to control, then insert the steel in one opening. Using pliers, continue to bend the steel and insert the other end. Hammer the steel in to secure them. Make sure that there still an arch of steel coming out from the dowel
You can now insert the dogs in the square or round holes drilled into your woodworking benches. Make a few extra just in case you lose one or two.
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